Lake El Cuchillo Bass Record

Lake Cuchillo Record - Barba and Morales Family - Cover

Research and Field Contributions: Fidel Vidal and José Carlos Mendoza.

This article is part of an ongoing Nomonday editorial research project documenting the biggest bass records from Mexico’s reservoirs.

The Story of Barba and the Morales Family

The record stood for more than 14 years. The son came within 3.4 ounces of breaking it. And when it finally fell, the man who held it was in the same boat.

Lake El Cuchillo: Where Records Are Set in Competition

Located in China, Nuevo León, Lake El Cuchillo has earned a unique place in the history of bass fishing in Mexico. Much of its reputation comes from the quality of its fish and from a strong tournament culture where many of its most memorable stories played out in front of competitors, judges, certified scales and tournament crowds.

That is one reason El Cuchillo holds such a distinctive place in Mexican bass fishing. It is a northern Mexico lake with a deeply competitive identity, where the names of the anglers have become almost as important as the weights of the fish.

Few stories capture that better than this one. The El Cuchillo record is best understood as a chain of catches connecting Javier Barba, Jesús “Don Chuy” Morales and Chuy Morales Jr.

Lake El Cuchillo, in China, Nuevo León, has been one of northern Mexico’s major tournament bass venues for decades.

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2001: Don Chuy Morales Sets the Bar

The first major mark in this story dates back to 2001, when Don Chuy Morales caught a 14.37-pound (6.520 kg) bass and established the benchmark at El Cuchillo. It was the kind of fish that changes the conversation around a lake for years. From that point forward, every giant bass caught at El Cuchillo was inevitably measured against that mark.

Years later, Don Chuy himself put some of the details of that day in writing. In a 2015 retrospective post, he recalled that the fish came during a BBA tournament, on the first bite of the second day. The bass measured 26.5 inches and ate a 9/16-ounce white-and-silver Excalibur tandem spinnerbait. Those details give us an unusually vivid look at a catch that dates all the way back to 2001.

A bass that size established El Cuchillo as one of the Mexican lakes capable of producing legitimate trophy fish and turned Don Chuy’s record into a benchmark for an entire generation of northern Mexico bass anglers.

Don Chuy had also been deeply connected to bass fishing in Nuevo León for years, and his knowledge of El Cuchillo would eventually become an important part of this story. For more than 14 years, his record was the number every giant bass from the lake was measured against. Before anyone finally broke it, the record nearly stayed in the family.

2012: When the Record Almost Stayed in the Family

Eleven years later, the story took an extraordinary turn. In 2012, Chuy Morales Jr. caught a 14.16-pound (6.425 kg) bass they called “El Animalito” — “The Little Animal.”

Don Chuy’s record still stood at 14.37 pounds (6.520 kg). The difference between the two fish was only 3.4 ounces (95 grams). That bass holds a special place in the history of El Cuchillo. The son of the man who owned the lake record came within a few ounces of taking it away from his father.

Very few lakes can claim a sequence like that: a father holding the record, his son missing it by only 3.4 ounces, and an entire fishing community following those marks as chapters in the same story.

2016: Javier Barba Breaks the Record

Then came 2016. The key date is February 20, 2016, during the Copa Nuevo León tournament at Lake El Cuchillo. That day, Javier Barba caught a 14.59-pound (6.620 kg) bass and finally broke the record Don Chuy Morales had held for more than fourteen years.

The previous mark was 14.37 pounds (6.520 kg). Barba beat it by only 3.5 ounces (100 grams).

Don Chuy had held the record for more than 14 years. His son had come within 3.4 ounces of breaking it. Barba had now moved the mark just 3.5 ounces higher.

That alone would have made it a remarkable story. There was one more detail.

Don Chuy Morales was in the same boat.

Barba was fishing under Don Chuy’s guidance, relying on the knowledge of a lake Morales had spent decades learning. That is the twist that makes this story different. The man who had established El Cuchillo’s great benchmark in 2001 was there — as witness, guide and accomplice — when his own record finally fell.

Months later, Don Chuy summed it up perfectly: “Javi Barba broke it… with me right there as witness and accomplice.”

That one line helps explain why the El Cuchillo record feels different from the record stories at other Mexican lakes.

Chuy Morales Jr. with El Animalito at El Cuchillo, 2012

Javier Barba with the 6.620 kg largemouth bass that broke the record in 2016

An image bringing together the key figures in this story about the record-breaking bass at El Cuchillo.

Four moments from the same story: Don Chuy Morales with the 14.37-pound bass that established the El Cuchillo record in 2001; Chuy Morales Jr. with “El Animalito,” a 14.16-pound fish caught in 2012; Javier Barba with the 14.59-pound bass that broke the record in 2016; and a later photograph bringing together the people at the center of the story. Photo credits: Don Chuy Morales / Facebook and original image sources.

How the Record Fish Was Caught

A chronicle published by DondePescar, based on Don Chuy Morales’ account, preserves much of what happened that morning. Barba and Don Chuy started the day fishing an area Morales knew well: an early-spawning pocket holding active fish in roughly 7 to 10 feet of water.

The morning was already going well. They had put together a limit with bass in the 4- to 5.5-pound range, and Barba had already caught another fish weighing more than 6.6 pounds. A few minutes later came the fish that would change the history of El Cuchillo.

Once they got the bass into the boat, Don Chuy checked it on his digital scale and saw that it was over 13 pounds. With a potential lake record in the boat, he called the tournament organizer and requested a special weigh-in.

The request was referred to the judges and approved. They were only a few minutes from the weigh-in area. They headed in immediately, and the bass was placed on the tournament’s official scale. The weight settled at 14.59 pounds (6.620 kg).

The El Cuchillo record had just changed hands.

The fish was officially recorded during a sanctioned fishing competition with certified tournament judges.

After the weigh-in, Javier Barba asked if they could take the bass back to the exact area where it had been caught. Don Chuy relayed the request to the judges, they approved it, and the two anglers headed back to the spot to release the fish alive.

That final part of the story was captured on video.

Javier Barba with the 14.59-pound (6.620 kg) bass that established the Lake El Cuchillo record on February 20, 2016, during the Copa Nuevo León. Photo credit: DondePescar.

The Historic Release Video

Days after the catch, Don Chuy Morales posted a video on Facebook showing the release of the record bass. The footage has significant documentary value.

Javier Barba can clearly be seen in the boat wearing the same clothing visible in photographs from that day. The bass itself is also clearly visible, along with the moment Barba returns it alive to the water.

The video does not show the official weigh-in. That part of the story is documented through other sources and the tournament record. What the footage provides is something different: contemporary visual evidence that completes the sequence surrounding the catch.

It visually confirms two particularly important pieces of the story. First, there is continuity between the photographs from the day of the catch and the later release, with Barba and the bass clearly identifiable in the same context.

Second, it documents the fish being released alive in the area to which Barba and Don Chuy returned after the weigh-in, just as Morales later described. Together, the account of the catch, the tournament weigh-in, the historical photographs and the release video create an unusually complete documentary trail.

The record at El Cuchillo has a remarkably strong chain of evidence behind it.

Historic video of Javier Barba releasing the El Cuchillo record bass, posted by Don Chuy Morales on February 27, 2016. The footage documents the fish being returned alive after the official weigh-in. According to Don Chuy’s account, the bass was released in the same area where it had been caught.
Source: Don Chuy Morales / Facebook.

El Cuchillo Is Still Producing

The story did not end in 2016. On May 24, 2025, another giant bass weighing 13.73 pounds (6.230 kg) was recorded during the Cuchillo Lake Open. That fish came within just 13.8 ounces (390 grams) of Javier Barba’s record.

Nine years after Barba’s catch, El Cuchillo had once again produced a fish capable of making a serious run at the mark.

That catch helps explain why the lake remains part of the conversation among Mexican bass anglers. El Cuchillo has history, a strong tournament culture, and — most importantly — it continues to produce big bass.

The record book may still have another chapter ahead.

The 13.73-pound (6.230 kg) bass recorded on May 24, 2025, during the Cuchillo Lake Open came within just 13.8 ounces of Javier Barba’s record. The fish was released after being recorded.

Photo credit: Canal 28.

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What We Can Say with Confidence Today

After reviewing historical sources, posts from the anglers themselves and surviving visual material, this is what the evidence most strongly supports about the El Cuchillo bass record.

First, the lake’s historic benchmark was established by Don Chuy Morales in 2001 with a 14.37-pound (6.520 kg) bass.

Second, in 2012, Chuy Morales Jr. added an extraordinary chapter to the story with a 14.16-pound (6.425 kg) fish that came within just 3.4 ounces (95 grams) of his father’s record.

Third, on February 20, 2016, Javier Barba broke the record with a 14.59-pound (6.620 kg) bass during the Copa Nuevo León. The fish was officially recorded in tournament competition.

Fourth, the live release of that bass was preserved on video, adding another piece to the documentary trail surrounding the catch.

And fifth, the 13.73-pound (6.230 kg) fish recorded in 2025 shows that nearly a decade later, El Cuchillo is still capable of producing bass that can seriously challenge the record.

A Lake, a Family and a Record

Every great bass lake builds its legend in a different way.

At Lake Baccarac, the story is tied to the almost mythical size of its giant bass.
At Cristo Roto, an official tournament record exists alongside a heavier publicly documented fish.
At Falcon Lake, the story is defined by the precision of the Texas record system.

El Cuchillo has its own kind of story.

Here, the legend was built through tournaments, generations, friendship and time. A father set the bar. His son came within 3.4 ounces of reaching it. And another angler finally moved the record higher — with the man who had held it for more than fourteen years right there in the boat.

Javier Barba’s 14.59 pounds (6.620 kg) is the number that remains in the record book. Around that number lives another story: a father and son, friends, competition, and a lake that kept bringing them together around the same kind of giant bass.

Frequently Asked Questions About the El Cuchillo Bass Record

What is the bass record at Lake El Cuchillo?

The record belongs to Javier Barba, who caught a 14.59-pound (6.620 kg) bass on February 20, 2016, during the Copa Nuevo León.

Who held the record before Javier Barba?

The previous record belonged to Don Chuy Morales, who caught a 14.37-pound (6.520 kg) bass in 2001.

Where does Chuy Morales Jr.’s bass fit into the story?

Chuy Morales Jr. caught a 14.16-pound (6.425 kg) bass in 2012, coming within just 3.4 ounces (95 grams) of his father’s record.

Is there video of Javier Barba’s record bass?

Yes. Don Chuy Morales published a historical video of the release on February 27, 2016, seven days after the catch. The footage documents the fish being returned alive after the weigh-in.

Has the record been broken since 2016?

As of this research, Javier Barba’s record still stands. In 2025, a 13.73-pound (6.230 kg) bass was documented at El Cuchillo, finishing just 13.8 ounces (390 grams) short of the 2016 mark.